


I Don't Want To Wear A Skirt

by disappointingcroissant



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Butch Kara Danvers, F/F, Fluff, exploration of, it's cute, kind of, maybe more non-binary idk, super suit upgrade, they're married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 15:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19008577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disappointingcroissant/pseuds/disappointingcroissant
Summary: Lena gives her wife a gift, hoping to help Kara express her more masculine side.





	I Don't Want To Wear A Skirt

“I don’t want to wear a skirt anymore.”

 

It’s said as soon as she’s through the door, before a hello, before Lena’s even looked her way. She drops her bag, keys clattering in the bowl on the entryway table.

 

“Good evening to you too.” Lena is tucked into the corner of the couch with a blanket on her lap and a book in her hand.

 

“I’m sorry. Hi. How are you?” Kara shrugs off her coat and kicks off her shoes before she reaches Lena, leaning down for a quick kiss and flopping down next to her.

 

“Fine. Better now that you’re home,” Lena says it to Kara almost everyday and it never fails to put a dopey smile on her face, “How bout you? Doesn’t seem like your day ended on the greatest of notes.”

 

“It’s not even that big of a deal. I just saw Batgirl on the news today and she was doing an interview after kicking butt, and she got to show off her utility belt and all the cool gadgets, and all I have is a skirt with no pockets.”

 

“And supernatural powers.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, and supernatural powers,” Kara is playing with Lena’s fingers now and she’s beginning to suspect something more is up based on Kara’s faraway look, “I don’t know it’s just - my powers aren’t exactly… cool. Or, badass. Or, sexy. And I don’t think my costume helps with that.”

 

“Oh trust me darling, your super strength is sexy. And I’ve had plenty a day dream involving _those_ legs in _that_ skirt.”

 

“But -” Kara seems to be struggling to find the right words, or is just stuck on them, “It’s not the kind of sexy I want to be.”

 

Lena takes a second to digest this, wonders if this is about more than being badass. Kara’s hinted at being uncomfortable in certain style clothes before. Sometimes it’s just that things are too tight in the wrong places - places Kara doesn’t want attention. Other times it’s just about not feeling _right_ . When you think someone is drop-dead gorgeous, god-like in their physique, it’s hard to imagine they’d have insecurities. It took a bit for Lena to actually understand the meaning behind her words. Kara’s spent her whole life hiding who she is, and the last few years _splitting_ who she is, that she’s never really felt allowed true self expression.

 

“There’s no better reason to switch up your look than that.”

 

“Than what? ”

 

“Because you want to. Here,” Lena takes Kara’s hand and pulls her up off the couch with her, “I have something for you”, Kara shuffles behind her as she leads her down the hallway.

 

Lena has a home workshop. One Kara’s never been in before. It’s Lena’s safe space, her place to be alone. It has a certain vibe that must not be messed with. Plus it’s behind, like, 10 different security protocols, and Lena’s hardly ever in it if Kara’s around. Lena’s leading Kara past the hidden door, flush with the wall, reinforced with steel, and lined with lead, into a small enclosure that ends in another door. This one with a biometric scanner. Kara looks the other way, like some adorable child who has been taught not to look when passwords are being input. It’s just she’s never seen this part of the process before, she doesn’t want to do the wrong thing and never get the chance again! (They’ve talked about the lead-lined aspect of the room, Kara satisfied with Lena’s _‘It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with my family’s past’_ ).

 

The room is no bigger than 18 feet by 18 feet. Sky blue cabinets and pull out drawers, some with more biometric scanners, cover the walls on two sides. The rest of the room is a rich dark blue, one wall broken up by a large monitor. It is mostly spotless, everything in its place, except for the work table that takes up almost a quarter of the room. It has parts, tools, and schematics spread across it. But Kara doesn’t see any of that because between the worktable and the monitor is a hoist holding a suit. A suit with her family’s crest on its chest.

 

The colors are similar to her current suit, only the blue is darker. There’s still a cape, her crest is exactly the same, and there’s still a gold accent around her hips, though thinner. But the hands have fingerless gloves that are a red which fades into the blue of the arms. The most noticeable difference is it’s made with pants. Pants that have _pockets_ , and, well she doesn’t know what else yet but she bets it’s _gadgets._

 

Kara’s struck dumb, taking it all in, so Lena jumps into explaining the specifications.

 

“It’s made with the same fabric as your current suit, Winn knew what he was doing there. I didn’t want to add bulk or weight if this is going to be your everyday suit, and you’re mostly invulnerable so I focused on function instead. Your right wrist has a band here,” she steps up next to Kara to show her what she’s talking about, “and if you touch it in the middle here, a virtual touch screen will come up.”

 

Lena touches something on the belt that seems to boot up the suit, it glows white briefly along the seams then dims back to its resting color. She presses the part of the wrist she’d just shown Kara and a touch screen pops up, floating in the air. Kara’s jaw drops open and she finally speaks.

 

“Lena, I… When?? - This is -” ok, she _sort of_ speaks.

 

Kara takes a step closer to inspect the suit properly. When her eyes come back to the screen, Lena continues, fiddling with her fingers.

 

“The most exciting thing I was able to do was get you some yellow sun light _in_ the suit. There’s two ways to activate, one is right here on your wrist screen, it’s the first option right now, just choose this light bulb icon and you’ve got sunlight coming from the light strips sewn throughout. Then there's the face shield just like the kryptonite protection suit I made you. I designed this more as an emergency fall back so if you’re about to pass out it’s easier to activate, just press your crest and the transparent polycarbonate faceplate will come up and the sun lamps with be on both in the seams and a stronger intensity inside the helmet.”

 

Kara’s silent again and Lena’s getting a little insecure. She starts rambling just to fill the space, to prove to Kara this is a good design.

 

“So there’s only 3 or 4 things the suit can do right now but that’s the beauty of programming, I can invent something new and install it like a plugin and you have a new feature! It’ll feel different to fight in it. But we can make adjustments, and we should do some testing in the lab, maybe a bigger lab at L corp in case something… explodes, but -”

 

Kara cuts her off with the biggest bear hug Lena’s ever received, lifted off her feet and everything. She can’t breathe very well, and her arms protest the pressure, but she doesn’t care, relief floods her body. She did good.

 

“Do you like it?”

 

“Lena, I love it! Oh my Rao it’s _amazing_! A _floating_ _touch_ _screen_ , are you kidding me? That’s something from the movies!”

 

“Want to try it on?”

 

Kara looks at her like she didn’t even think it was a possibility, like Lena’s just made her entire life.

 

“Yes!”

 

“Ok let me get it down.”

 

It’s quick work to detach it from the stand and when she hands it over to Kara she holds it delicately. Kara kisses Lena quick and speeds into the suit right in front of her. It fits perfectly. Kara’s stance is wide, shoulders pulled back, looking down at herself, flexing and twisting. Kara feels powerful in this suit.

 

“I need a mirror,” Kara zooms out of the room leaving Lena to laugh and slowly follow.

 

She finds her in their bedroom, in front of a full length mirror, standing still and taking it in. Lena notices that she isn’t asking too much about the functionality, seems more struck by the look. Kara’s eyes traces her figure up and down a few times in the mirror before she turns to Lena, face suddenly serious.

 

“Lena, this is incredible, really. I mean I know you’re a genius but, this is something else,” she steps closer to touch Lena, putting her hands on her hips, “It’s kind of crazy how different I feel. More powerful, free…. I don’t know.” Kara seems embarrassed, not believing she’s making sense.

 

“It’s more you, I think.”

 

Lena reaches to run her hands from Kara’s neck, down her shoulders, landing on her chest, trying to convey her affection and belief in Kara through the touch. It’s time to share her theory.

 

“I’ve seen a difference in you when you wear those nice suits. I bought them selfishly, wanting to see my handsome wife looking dapper, but your whole presence changes, I could tell you felt good in them. And when you’re around the house, in your joggers and loose tees, you just seem so comfortable, more you.”

 

Kara stares at Lena, thoughtful with a crinkle in her brow. It smooths over a second later, accompanied by a smile.

 

“I swear, you know me better than I know myself. I love you so much Lena.”

 

She leans down and pulls Lena to her, giving her a sweet kiss that lasts, that presses all of Kara’s emotions to Lena’s lips. Kara breaks it only to pepper kisses around her face. Lena  laughs and squirms away when Kara gets more playful, tickling her with lips on her neck.

 

Kara pulls away, bouncing on her feet, energized.

 

“Can I take it on a test run?”

 

“Of course, it’s your suit. Just don’t play with any buttons yet, I’ll show you them in a controlled environment.”

 

“You got it, boss!” She’s out the window before Lena can respond, rustling everything from its place in her wake.

 

When Kara gets back she doesn’t take off the suit. She checks herself out in the mirror a few more times. She sends out an excited text with a picture to the Superfriends. She even cooks dinner in it. Later, when they’ve settled on the couch to watch TV, Kara asks a question that’s been on her mind.

 

“How come you didn’t tell me you were working on this?”

 

“I wanted to surprise you. I also think I didn’t want to mess with the icon, you know? I mean your suit _is_ Supergirl.”

 

“Well I can’t wait to show the world the new Supergirl. The real Supergirl.”

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't really go into Kara's thoughts on being more comfy in mens clothes - it felt too much like inserting myself in the story/felt forced. I thought the end result was a good representation of my experience though and found it interesting that I went the route of focusing more on Lena's thinking. Let me know if I should've tried to fit more of Kara's thinking somewhere. Thanks everyone. come say hi on [tumblr! ](https://disappointingcroissant.tumblr.com/)
> 
> some amazing fan art of a suit with pants [ @smallandsundry ](https://smallandsundry.tumblr.com/post/183370637845/process-gif-and-closeups-for-my-supergirl-suit), [ @plastic-pipes ](https://plastic-pipes.tumblr.com/post/161219542973/yall-liked-the-armor-concept-so-i-tried-to-clean), [ @battenthecrosshatches](https://battenthecrosshatches.tumblr.com/post/182287244805/im-really-into-this-concept-of-a-supersuit), [ @foleypdx ](https://foleypdx.tumblr.com/post/169937148472/wanted-to-reimagine-the-super-suit-for)


End file.
